Method, apparatus, and system for controlling services

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method, an apparatus, and a system for controlling services, where the method includes: receiving, by a PCRF, congestion state information on a cell, resource-related information on the cell, and subscriber-related information on a UE in an activated state in the cell that are sent by an access network device; generating, by the PCRF, a QoS policy and/or a charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cell according to the congestion state information on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in the cell; sending, by the PCRF, the generated QoS policy and/or charging policy to a PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2011/083662, filed on Dec. 8, 2011, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201010613170.9, filed on Dec. 21, 2010,both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field ofcommunications technologies, and in particular, to a method, anapparatus, and a system for controlling services.

BACKGROUND

The communications network is evolving from a circuit switching (CircuitSwitching, CS for short) domain network to an IP-based packet switching(Packet Switching, PS for short) domain network. To providecarrier-class services in an IP network, a key issue is how to addressthe end-to-end quality of service (Quality of Service, QoS for short)problem to meet the communication quality requirements of users(especially for real-time services, such as video calls). In addition,because more types of services can be provided in IP communicationnetworks (such as web browsing, file downloading, and video on demand),networks need to possess capabilities of charging according to differentservice streams.

To meet these requirements, the 3rd generation partnership project (3rdGeneration Partnership Project, 3GPP for short) defines a policy andcharging control (Policy and Charging Control, PCC for short)architecture, in which the PCC architecture includes a policy controland charging rules function entity (Policy Control and Charging RulesFunction, PCRF for short). The function entity determines a PCC ruleaccording to restrictions of accessing a network by subscribers,policies of carriers, subscribers subscription data, and information onservices currently provided to subscribers, and sends the PCC rules to apolicy and charging enforcement function entity (Policy and ChargingEnforcement Function, PCEF for short), and then the PCEF executes thePCC rules, The PCC rules include a detection rule of a service datastream, whether to perform gating, QoS corresponding to a service datastream, and a stream-based charging rule (such as charging based ontime, traffic, and events). The PCEF implements, by executing the PCCrules sent by the PCRF, the detection and measurement of service datastreams, QoS assurance for service data streams, traffic processing onthe user plane, and triggering of session management on the controlplane.

In the existing PCC architecture, the PCEF and PCRF can only subscribeto location information on a single user equipment (User Equipment, UEfor short). The PCRF determines the PCC rules of the UE only accordingto the location information and subscription information on the UE,resulting in that only services of the UE is assured, but services ofother UEs in an activated state in the same cell cannot be assured, andtherefore wireless resources cannot be fully utilized.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, anda system for controlling services, so as to implement the control overservices of all UEs in a cell to fully utilize wireless resources of thecell.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controllingservices, including:

obtaining, by a PCRF, congestion state information on a cell, theresource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on a UE in an activated state in the cell that are sent byaccess network devices;

generating, by the PCRF, a QoS policy and/or a charging policy for theUE in the activated state in the cell according to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell; and

sending, by the PCRF, the QoS policy and/or the charging policy to thePCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an apparatus forcontrolling services, including:

an obtaining module, configured to obtain congestion state informationon a cell, the resource-related information on the cell, and thesubscriber-related information on a UE in an activated state in the cellthat are sent by access network devices;

a decision module, configured to generate a QoS policy and/or a chargingpolicy for the UE in the activated state in the cell according to thecongestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell; and

a sending module, configured to send the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy to a PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoS policyand/or the charging policy.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a system forcontrolling services, including an access network device and a PCRF,where:

the access network device is configured to send congestion stateinformation on a cell, resource-related information on the cell, andsubscriber-related information on a UE in an activated state in the cellto a PCRF; and

the PCRF is configured to receive the congestion state information onthe cell, the resource-related information on the cell, and thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell that are sent by the access network device; generate a QoS policyand/or charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell; and send thegenerated QoS policy and/or charging policy to a PCEF, so as to enablethe PCEF to receive and execute the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy sent by the PCRF.

According to the foregoing technical solutions, in the embodiments ofthe present invention, by obtaining the congestion state information onthe cell, the resource-related information on the cell, and thesubscriber-related information on a UE in the activated state in thecell that are sent by the access network device, the PCRF can generatethe QoS policy and/or the charging policy for the UE in the activatedstate in the cell according to the obtained information and send the QoSpolicy and/or the charging policy to the PCEF, so as to enable the PCEFto execute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy, therebyimplementing the control over services of all UEs in the activated statein the cell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention or in the prior art more clearly, the following brieflyintroduces the accompanying drawings required for describing theembodiments or the prior art. Apparently, the accompanying drawings inthe following description show merely some embodiments of the presentinvention, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may still deriveother drawings from these accompanying drawings without creativeefforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a PCC architecture defined by the 3GPP;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of information exchange between a PCRFand a PCEF in a PCC architecture;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of an apparatus for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 5 of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a system for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of theembodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following clearlyand completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments ofthe present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in theembodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the describedembodiments are merely a part rather than all of the embodiments of thepresent invention. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinaryskill in the art according to the embodiments of the present inventionwithout creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a PCC architecture defined by the 3GPP.As shown in FIG. 1, in the PCC architecture, different service streamsmay be detected on a network side, and QoS control and chargingstatistical collection are performed according to the service streams.In the PCC architecture shown in FIG. 1, a flowchart of informationexchange between a PCRF and a PCEF is shown in FIG. 2, and theinformation exchange between the PCRF and the PCEF includes thefollowing steps:

Step 201: An access network device sends an IP connectivity accessnetwork (IP Connectivity Access Network, IP CAN for short) session setuprequest message to a PCEF. The format of the IP-CAN session setuprequest message is related to an access network type. For example, for aGPRS network, a first PDP context is set up.

Step 202: The PCEF sends a credit control request(Credit-Control-Request, CCR for short) message to a PCRF, in which theCCR message includes information such as the UE identificationinformation and IP address.

Step 203: The PCRF makes a PCC policy decision to generate acorresponding PCC rule, according to the information included in thereceived CCR message, restrictions of accessing a network by the UE, apolicy of a carrier, subscriber subscription data, and information onservices currently provided to the UE.

Optionally, the PCRF may further determine a trigger event list (forexample: an event such as a location change of the UE).

Step 204: The PCRF sends a credit control answer (Credit-Control-Answer,CCA for short) message to the PCEF, in which the CCA message includesthe generated PCC rule. Optionally, the CCA message may further includethe determined trigger event list.

Step 205: The PCEF loads and executes the PCC rule and saves events inthe trigger event list.

Step 206: The PCEF sends an IP-CAN session setup answer message to theaccess network device.

Step 207: The PCEF detects an event according to the events in thetrigger event list sent by the PCRF.

Step 208: When the PCEF detects that an event is generated, the PCEFsends a CCR message to the PCRF, in which the CCR message includes theevent that triggers the CCR message. Optionally, the CCR messageincludes related information on the event.

Step 209: The PCRF re-makes the PCC policy decision to re-generate thecorresponding PCC rule.

Optionally, the PCRF may further re-determine the trigger event list.

Step 210: The PCRF sends a CCA message to the PCEF, in which the CCAmessage includes the re-generated PCC rule.

Optionally, the CCA message may further include the re-determinedtrigger event list.

Step 211: Alternatively, the PCRF may also actively send the PCC ruleand the trigger event list to the PCEF using a Re-Auth-Request(Re-Auth-Request, RAR for short) message.

Step 212: The PCEF loads and executes the PCC rule included in theRe-Auth-Request (Re-Auth-Request, RAR for short) message; the PCEF loadsand executes the PCC rules; if the trigger event list is included in theRAR message, the PCEF saves the trigger event list and sends an RAAmessage as a response.

Therefore, in the foregoing PCC architecture, the PCEF and the PCRF canonly send location information on a single UE or subscribe to thelocation change of a single UE; when a UE's location changes, the PCEFreports the current location information of the UE to the PCRF for PCRFto decide a policy.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling servicesaccording to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3,the method for controlling services in this embodiment may include thefollowing steps:

Step 301: A PCRF obtains congestion state information on a cell,resource-related information on the cell, and subscriber-relatedinformation on a UE in an activated state in the cell that are sent byan access network device.

The congestion state information may include cell congestion indicationinformation or related information on a congestion event of the cell;the resource-related information on the cell may include but is notlimited to a maximum data service bandwidth that the cell can supportand/or the maximum number of UEs that the cell can serve; thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell may include but is not limited to subscriber list information onthe UE in the activated state in the cell, in which the subscriber listinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell includes UEidentification information.

Step 302: The PCRF generates a QoS policy and/or a charging policy forthe UE in the activated state in the cell according to the congestionstate information on the cell, the resource-related information on thecell, and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell.

Step 303: The PCRF sends the QoS policy and/or the charging policy to aPCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or chargingpolicy.

Furthermore, if a bearer binding and event reporting function entity(Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function, BBERF for short) exists ina network, the PCRF may further send the QoS policy to the BBERF, so asto enable the BBERF to execute the QoS policy.

The method for controlling services provided in this embodiment may beapplied to a plurality of types of wireless access networks, such as aUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (Universal MobileTelecommunication System, UMTS for short), an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunication System Territorial Radio Access Network (EvolvedUniversal Mobile Telecommunication System Territorial Radio AccessNetwork, E-UTRAN for short), a UMTS Territorial Radio Access Network(UMTS Territorial Radio Access Network, UTRAN for short), a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (Global System for MobileCommunications, GSM for short)/Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution, EDGE for short), a GSM EDGE RadioAccess Network (GSM EDGE Radio Access Network, GERAN for short), and anon-third generation partnership project (the 3rd Generation PartnerProject, 3GPP for short) network.

The PCEF may be specifically located in a gateway device. Specifically,the gateway device may be a packet data network gateway (Packet DataNetwork Gateway, P-GW for short) in an E-UTRAN, a gateway general packetradio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS for short) supportingnode (Gateway GPRS Supporting Node, GGSN for short) in a UTRAN/GERAN, orother network elements.

The BBERF may be specifically located in a gateway device. Specifically,the gateway device may be a serving gateway (Serving Gateway, S-GW forshort) in an E-UTRAN or a trusted non-3GPP access gateway (Trustednon-3GPP Access Gateway) in a non-3GPP network.

The access network device may be an evolved NodeB (Evolved NodeB, eNBfor short) in an E-UTRAN, a radio network controller (Radio NetworkController, RNC for short) or base station controller (Base StationController, BSC for short) in a UTRAN/GERAN, an access network logicalfunction of an ePDG of a WLAN in a non-3GPP network, an access servicenetwork base station (Access Service Network Base Station, ASN BS forshort) in a WiMAX network, or an access network logical function of anHRPD AN in a CDMA network, or other network elements.

In step 301, specifically, the obtaining congestion state information ona cell may be: obtaining the cell congestion indication information orthe related information on the congestion event of the cell that is sentby the access network device, so as to obtain the congestion stateinformation on the cell that the foregoing information indicates.Specifically, the congestion state information on the cell may indicatecongestion state information on the cell and non-congestion stateinformation on the cell; or only indicate the congestion stateinformation on the cell, and when the congestion state information onthe cell is received, the state information indicating that congestionoccurs in the cell is obtained, that is, if no congestion stateinformation on the cell is received, it indicates that no congestionoccurs in the cell.

In step 301, specifically, the obtaining resource-related information onthe cell may be: receiving the resource-related information on the cellthat is sent by the access network device, so as to obtain theresource-related information on the cell.

In step 301, specifically, the obtaining subscriber-related informationon the UE in an activated state in the cell may be: receiving subscriberlist information on the UE in the activated state in the cell that issent by the access network device, so as to obtain thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell. If the number of UEs in the activated state in the cell changes,that is, at least one type of the following conditions may be included:a UE in the activated state that changes from a deactivated state to theactivated state exists in the cell, a UE in the deactivated state thatchanges from the activated state to the deactivated state exists in thecell, a UE in the activated state leaves the cell, and a UE in theactivated state enters the cell, the subscriber-related information onthe UE in the activated state in the cell may further include at leastone of the following types of information: identification information onthe UE in the activated state that changes from the deactivated state tothe activated state in the cell, identification information on the UE inthe deactivated state that changes from the activated state to thedeactivated state in the cell, identification information on the UE inthe activated state that leaves the cell, and identification informationon the UE in the activated state that enters the cell.

Specifically, the access network device detects the cell congestionstate according to signaling for detecting the cell congestion statesent by the PCRF, and sends cell congestion indication information ofthe cell to the PCRF, so as to enable the PCRF to obtain the congestionstate information on the cell or the non-congestion state information onthe cell according to the cell congestion indication information; orwhen the access network device detects that the cell is congested, theaccess network device sends the cell congestion indication informationto the PCRF, so as to enable the PCRF to obtain the congestion stateinformation on the cell according to the cell congestion indicationinformation.

Specifically, the access network device may query cell resourcesaccording to signaling for querying the cell resources sent by the PCRF,and send the resource-related information on the cell to the PCRF.

Correspondingly, the access network device may query for subscriberinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell according tothe signaling for querying the UE in the activated state in the cellsent by the PCRF, and send the subscriber list information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell to the PCRF; furthermore, the accessnetwork device may detect a change of the UE in the activated statechanges in the cell according to signaling for detecting the change ofthe UE in the activated state in the cell that is sent by the PCRF, andsend at least one of the following types of information to the PCRF:identification information on a UE in the activated state that changesfrom the deactivated state to the activated state in the cell,identification information on a UE in the activated state that changesfrom the activated state to the deactivated state in the cell,identification information on a UE in the activated state that leavesthe cell, and identification information on the UE in the activatedstate that enters the cell.

Specifically, the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell may betransmitted using current Attribute-Value Pairs (Attribute-Value Pairs,AVP for short). For example, a Congestion-Level AVP (Congestion-LevelAVP) may be used for indicating the congestion state information on thecell, a Max-Requested-Bandwidth-UL/Max-Requested-Bandwidth-DL(Max-Requested-Bandwidth-UL/Max-Requested-Bandwidth-DL) may be used forindicating the maximum data service bandwidth that the cell supports,and a Subscription-Id AVP (Subscription-Id AVP) may be used forindicating UE identification information and other AVPs, or, a new AVPmay be defined to transmit the subscriber-related information on the UEin the activated state in the cell, and the specific definition mannersare as follows:

A Congestion_Indication AVP (Congestion_Indication AVP) is used forindicating the cell congestion and may include the cell identificationinformation (Cell ID), or may not include the cell identificationinformation but is sent with the cell identification in the samemessage.

Congestion_Indication::=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   [Cell ID]    -   *[AVP]

A Cell_Resource_Info AVP (Cell_Resource_Info AVP) is used for indicatingthe resource-related information on the cell and includes aMax-Cell-Bandwidth-UL AVP (Max-Cell-Bandwidth-UL AVP) that indicates amaximum upstream bandwidth of the cell, a Max-Cell-Bandwidth-DL AVP(Max-Cell-Bandwidth-DL AVP) that indicates a maximum downstreambandwidth of the cell, and a Max-User-Number AVP (Max-User-Number AVP)that indicates the maximum number of UEs that the cell supports.

Cell_Resource_Info::=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   [Max-Cell-Bandwidth-UL]    -   [Max-Cell-Bandwidth-DL]    -   [Max-User-Number]    -   *[AVP]

A User_List_In_Cell AVP (User_List_In_Cell AVP) is used for indicatingthe subscriber list information on the UE in the activated state in thecell, and includes one more pieces of UE identification information(Subscription-Id). For example, an international mobile subscriberidentification number (International Mobile Subscriber IdentificationNumber, IMSI for short) and a network access identifier (Network AccessIdentifier, NAI for short):

User_List_In_Cell=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   *[Subscription-Id]    -   *[AVP]

A User_In AVP (User_In AVP) indicates a UE in the activated state thatenters the cell, and includes the identification information on the UEin the activated state that enters the cell and the cell identificationinformation:

User_In::=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   *[Subscription-Id]    -   [Cell identification information]    -   *[AVP]

A User_Out AVP (User_Out AVP) indicates a UE in the activated state thatleaves the cell, and includes the identification information on the UEin the activated state that leaves the cell and the cell identificationinformation:

User_Out=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   *[Subscription-Id]    -   [Cell identification information]    -   *[AVP]

A User_Active AVP (User_Active AVP) indicates the UE in the activatedstate in the cell, and includes the identification information on the UEin the activated state in the cell and the cell identificationinformation:

User_Active=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   *[Subscription-Id]    -   [Cell identification information]    -   *[AVP]

A User_Deactive AVP (User_Deactive AVP) indicates the UE in thedeactivated state in the cell, and includes the identificationinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell and the cellidentification information:

User_Deactive::=<AVP Header: xxxx>

-   -   *[Subscription-Id]    -   [Cell identification information]    -   *[AVP]

Specifically, the existing AVP or the newly-defined AVP may be used totransmit the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell in, but notlimited to, the following manners:

A. The congestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell are transmitted in the existingmessages using the existing AVPs or the newly-defined AVPs. For example,in an E-UTRAN, an S1 interface message sent by an eNB to a mobilitymanagement entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME), such as an E-RABSETUP RESPONSE (E-RAB SETUP RESPONSE) message, an E-RAB MODIFY RESPONSE(E-RAB MODIFY RESPONSE) message, an E-RAB RELEASE RESPONSE (E-RABRELEASE RESPONSE) message, or an E-RAB RELEASE INDICATION (E-RAB RELEASEINDICATION) message; an S11 interface message sent by the MME to an S-GWand an S5/S8 interface message sent by the S-GW to a P-GW, such as acreate session request (Create Session Request) message, a bearerresource command (Bearer Resource Command) message, a modify bearerrequest (Modify Bearer Request) message, or a delete session request(Delete Session Request) message; and a Gx/Gxx interface message sent bythe PCEF on the P-GW or the BBERF on the S-GW to the PCRF, such as aCredit-Control-Request (Credit-Control-Request, CCR for short) messageor a Re-Auth-Answer (Re-Auth-Answer, RAA for short) message.

B. The congestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell may be transmitted in anewly-added interface message between the access network device and thePCRF using the existing AVPs or newly-defined AVPs.

C. The congestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell may be transmitted in anewly-added interface message corresponding to a newly-added operationand maintenance (Operation and Maintenance, OM for short) system betweenthe access network device and the PCRF using the existing AVPs ornewly-defined AVPs.

Furthermore, the PCRF may send the signaling for detecting the cellcongestion state, signaling for querying the UE in the activated state,signaling for detecting the change of the UE in the activated state, andsignaling for querying the cell to the access network device in, but notlimited to, the foregoing three manners.

Furthermore, the access network device may detect the cell congestionstate according to a CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event sent by thePCRF. When detecting that the cell is congested, the access networkdevice sends the cell congestion event and cell identificationinformation to the PCRF, so as to enable the PCRF to obtain thecongestion state information on the cell according to the cellcongestion event.

Correspondingly, the access network device may detect the change of theUE in the activated state in the cell and send at least one type of thefollowing events: a USER_IN (USER_IN) event, USER_OUT (USER_OUT) event,a USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and a USER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE)event, and a USER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE) event, and the related UE(changed UE) identification information to the PCRF, according to thecorresponding event of the UE in the activated state that changes, thatis, the USE_IN event, the USER_OUT event, the USER_ACTIVE event, or theUSER_DEACTIVE event.

Specifically, when the PCRF uses an event mechanism to subscribe to thecongestion state information on the cell and the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE, in the cell, that changes, the PCRF may, byextending an Event-Trigger AVP (Event-Trigger AVP) of an existing Gx/Gxxinterface, add a new event such as a CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION)event, a USER_IN (USER_IN) event, a USER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, aUSER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and a USER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE)event.

Furthermore, the subscriber-related information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell may further include at least one of thefollowing types of information: radio access technology (Radio AccessTechnology, RAT for short) type information and terminal typeinformation on UEs.

In step 302, specifically, the PCRF makes the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy decision to generate the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy for the UE in the activated state in the cell according to thecongestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, after step 301 is performed, the PCRFmay further obtain the subscriber subscription information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell according to the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, in which, thesubscriber subscription information may include but is not limited to atleast one of the following types of information: subscriber levelinformation, data services that subscribers are allowed to use, and themaximum data service bandwidth that subscribers are allowed to use.

Correspondingly, in step 302, the PCRF specifically generates the QoSpolicy and/or the charging policy for the UE in the activated state inthe cell according to the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, and thesubscriber subscription information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell. The PCRF sends the generated QoS policy and/or charging policyto the PCEF, and the PCEF executes the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy; furthermore, the PCRF may further send the generated QoS policyto the BBERF, and the BBERF executes the QoS policy.

For example, for the QoS policy, when the congestion state informationon the cell is obtained, a data service bandwidth of the UE in theactivated state may be limited according to a subscriber level (goldsubscriber, silver subscriber, and bronze subscriber in descendingorder) of the UE in the activated state and/or a data service bandwidththat the cell currently supports, or the data service used by the UE inthe activated state may be further limited according to the subscriberlevel of the UE in the activated state and/or the data service bandwidththat the cell currently supports, or the UE activation may be furtherlimited according to the subscriber level of the UE and/or the dataservice bandwidth that the cell currently supports. For example, whenthe number of UEs in the activated state in the cell is greater than afirst threshold, the data service bandwidth of the bronze subscriber islimited; when the number of UEs in the activated state in the cell isgreater than a second threshold, the data service bandwidth of thesilver subscriber is limited; when the number of UEs in the activatedstate in the cell is greater than a third threshold, the data servicebandwidth of the gold subscriber is limited; when the number of UEs inthe activated state in the cell is greater than a fourth threshold, thedata service of the bronze subscriber is limited; when the number of UEsin the activated state in the cell is greater than a fifth threshold,the data service of the silver subscriber is limited; when the number ofUEs in the activated state in the cell is greater than a sixththreshold, the data service of the gold subscriber is limited; when thenumber of UEs in the activated state in the cell is greater than aseventh threshold, the activation of the bronze subscriber is limited;when the number of UEs in the activated state in the cell is greaterthan an eighth threshold, the activation of the silver subscriber islimited; when the number of UEs in the activated state in the cell isgreater than a ninth threshold, the activation of the gold subscriber islimited. The number of UEs in the activated states in the cell may bethe number of UEs in the activated states during a certain duration orthe number of UEs in the activated state at a certain time; similarly,UEs of different subscriber levels may be further limited according tothe data service bandwidth that the cell currently supports. For thecharging policy, the data service charging standard for the UE in theactivated state may be raised or lowered according to the subscriberlevel of the UE in the activated state (gold subscriber, silversubscriber, and bronze subscriber in a descending order). For example,when the number of UEs in the activated state is greater than the firstthreshold, the data service charging standard for the bronze subscriberis raised; when the number of UEs in the activated state is greater thanthe second threshold, the data service charging standard for the silversubscriber is raised; when the number of UEs in the activated state isgreater than the third threshold, the data service charging standard forthe gold subscriber is raised.

In this embodiment, by obtaining the congestion state information on thecell, the resource-related information on the cell, and thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell that are sent by the access network device, the PCRF can generatethe QoS policy and/or the charging policy for the UE in the activatedstate in the cell according to the obtained information, and send theQoS policy and/or the charging policy to the PCEF, so as to enable thePCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy, therebyimplementing the control over services of all UE in the activated statein the cell. This ensures that services of the UE in the activated statein the cell normally proceed.

The following describes the technical solutions of the embodiment of thepresent invention in detail using a UTRAN/GERAN as an example. FIG. 4 isa schematic flowchart of a method for controlling services provided inEmbodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the methodfor controlling services in this embodiment may include the followingsteps:

Step 401: A PCRF subscribes to congestion state information on a cell,resource-related information on the cell, and subscriber-relatedinformation on a UE in an activated state in the cell through a GGSN anda general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS forshort) serving GPRS supporting node (Serving GPRS Supporting Node, SGSNfor short).

The subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell may include subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, information on a UE in the activated statethat changes from a deactivated state to the activated state in thecell, information on a UE in the activated state that changes from theactivated state to the deactivated state in the cell, information on aUE in the activated state that leaves the cell, and information on a UEin the activated state that enters the cell.

A logical function of a PCEF is integrated on the GGSN.

Specifically, the PCRF may subscribe with an RNC/BSC using an existingmessage (including a message sent by the PCRF to the GGSN, a messagesent by the GGSN to the SGSN, and a message sent by the SGSN to theRNC/BSC). The forgoing message includes an Event-Trigger AVP(Event-Trigger AVP), signaling for querying the UE in the activatedstate in the cell, and signaling for querying cell resources. TheEvent-Trigger AVP (Event-Trigger AVP) includes a CELL_CONGESTION(CELL_CONGESTION) event, a USER_IN (USER_IN) event, a USER_OUT(USER_OUT) event, a USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and a USER_DEACTIVE(USER_DEACTIVE) event.

Step 402: The RNC/BSC sends subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell and the resource-related information on thecell to the PCRF through the SGSN and GGSN according to the eventincluded in the Event-Trigger AVP, the signaling for querying the UE inthe activated state in the cell, and the signaling for querying cellresources, and detects the cell state (congested or not congested) and achange of the UE in the activated state in the cell.

Specifically, the RNC/BSC may send the subscriber list information onthe UE in the activated state in the cell and the resource-relatedinformation on the cell to the PCRF using the existing message(including a message sent by the RNC/BSC to the SGSN, a message sent bythe SGSN to the GGSN, and a message sent by the GGSN to the PCRF). Theforegoing message includes a User_List_In_Cell AVP (User_List_In_CellAVP) and a Cell_Resource_Info AVP (Cell_Resource_Info AVP) whichrespectively indicate the subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell and the resource-related information on thecell.

Step 403: When detecting that the cell is congested or the UE in theactivated state in the cell changes, the RNC/BSC sends a CELL_CONGESTION(CELL_CONGESTION) event and cell identification information to the PCRFthrough the SGSN and GGSN, or sends at least one of the followingevents: the USER_IN (USER_IN) event, the USER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, theUSER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and the USER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE)event, and related UE identification information.

Step 404: The PCRF obtains subscriber subscription information on the UEin the activated state in the cell according to the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell.

Step 405: The PCRF makes a PCC policy decision to generate a QoS policyand/or a charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the received subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, resource-related information on the cell,CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, and subscriber subscriptioninformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, or accordingto the received subscriber list information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell, resource-related information on the cell, subscribersubscription information on the UE in the activated state in the cell,the CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, and at least one of thefollowing events: the USER_IN (USER_IN) event, the USER_OUT (USER_OUT)event, the USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and the USER_DEACTIVE(USER_DEACTIVE) event.

Specifically, for detailed description about the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy, reference may be made to related content in Embodiment1 of the present invention, which is not further described herein again.

Step 406: The PCRF sends the QoS policy and/or the charging policy tothe GGSN.

Step 407: The GGSN loads and executes the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy.

Specifically, if the QoS policy and/or the charging policy is toincrease a data service bandwidth for a gold subscriber, the GGSN mayinitiate a modification process that is borne by the related UE in theactivated state. Reference may be made to the related content in theprior art for detailed description, which is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the PCRF subscribes to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell through the GGSN and SGSN with the RNC/BSC, so as to obtainthe congestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell that are sent by the RNC/BSCthrough the SGSN and GGSN, and obtains the subscriber subscriptioninformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell according tothe subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell, so that the PRCF generates the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy for the UE in the activated state in the cell according to theobtained information and send the generated QoS policies and/or chargingpolicies to the GGSN, thereby implementing the control over services ofall UE in the activated state in the cell. This ensures that services ofthe UE in the activated state in the cell normally proceed.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling servicesprovided in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5,the method for controlling services in this embodiment may include thefollowing steps:

Step 501: A PCRF subscribes to congestion state information on a cell,resource-related information on the cell, and subscriber-relatedinformation on a UE in an activated state in the cell with an RNC/BSCthrough an OM system;

The subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell may include subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, information on a UE that changes from adeactivated state to the activated state in the cell, information on aUE in the activated state that changes from the activated state to thedeactivated state in the cell, information on a UE in the activatedstate that leaves the cell, and information on a UE in the activatedstate that enters the cell.

Specifically, the PCRF may subscribe with the RNC/BSC using anewly-added interface message (including a newly-added interface messagesent by the PCRF to the OM system and a newly-added interface messagesent by the OM system to the RNC/BSC). The forgoing message includes anEvent-Trigger AVP (Event-Trigger AVP), signaling for querying the UE inthe activated state in the cell, and signaling for querying cellresources. The Event-Trigger AVP (Event-Trigger AVP) includes aCELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, a USER_IN (USER_IN) event, aUSER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, a USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and aUSER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE) event.

Step 502: The RNC/BSC sends the subscriber list information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell and the resource-related information onthe cell to the PCRF through the OM system according to the eventincluded in the Event-Trigger AVP, the signaling for querying the UE inthe activated state in the cell, and the signaling for querying cellresources, and detects the cell state (congested or not congested) and achange of the UE in the activated state in the cell.

Specifically, the RNC/BSC may send the subscriber list information onthe UE in the activated state in the cell and the resource-relatedinformation on the cell to the PCRF using the newly-added interfacemessage (including the newly-added interface message sent by the RNC/BSCto the OM system and the newly-added interface message sent by the OMsystem to the PCRF). The foregoing message includes a User_List_In_CellAVP (User_List_In_Cell AVP) and a Cell_Resource_Info AVP(Cell_Resource_Info AVP) which respectively indicate the subscriber listinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell and theresource-related information on the cell.

Step 503: When detecting that the cell is congested or the UE in theactivated state in the cell changes, the RNC/BSC sends a CELL_CONGESTION(CELL_CONGESTION) event and cell identification information to the PCRFthrough the OM system, or sends at least one of the following events:the USER_IN (USER_IN) event, the USER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, theUSER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and the USER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE)event, and related UE identification information.

Step 504: The PCRF obtains subscriber subscription information on the UEin the activated state in the cell according to the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell.

Step 505: The PCRF makes a PCC policy decision to generate a QoS policyand/or a charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the received subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, the resource-related information on thecell, CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, and subscribersubscription information on the UE in the activated state in the cell,or according to the received subscriber list information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell, resource-related information on thecell, subscriber subscription information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell, the CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, and atleast one of the following events: the USER_IN (USER_IN) event, theUSER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, the USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and theUSER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE) event.

Specifically, for detailed description about the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy, reference may be made to related content in Embodiment1 of the present invention, which is not further described herein again.

Step 506: The PCRF sends the QoS policy and/or the charging policy tothe GGSN; the GGSN integrates with a PCEF logical function.

Step 507: The GGSN loads and executes the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy.

Specifically, if the QoS policy and/or the charging policy is toincrease a data service bandwidths for a gold subscriber, the GGSN mayinitiate a modification process that is borne by the related UE in theactivated state. Reference may be made to the related content in theprior art for detailed description, which is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the PCRF subscribes to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell through the OM system with the RNC/BSC, so as to obtain thecongestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell that are sent by the RNC/BSCthrough the OM system, and obtains the subscriber subscriptioninformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell according tothe subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell, so that the PRCF generates the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy for the UE in the activated state in the cell according to theobtained information and send the generated QoS policies and/or chargingpolicies to the GGSN, thereby implementing the control over services ofall UE in the activated state in the cell. This ensures that services ofthe UE in the activated state in the cell normally proceed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a method provided in Embodiment 6 ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the method for controllingservices in this embodiment may include the following steps:

Step 601: A PCRF subscribes to congestion state information on a cell,resource-related information on the cell, and subscriber-relatedinformation on a UE in an activated state in the cell directly with anRNC/BSC.

The subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell may include subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, information on a UE in the activated statethat changes from a deactivated state to the activated state in thecell, information on a UE in the activated state that changes from theactivated state to the deactivated state in the cell, information on aUE in the activated state that leaves the cell, and information on a UEin the activated state that enters the cell.

Specifically, the PCRF may subscribe with the RNC/BSC using anewly-added interface message. The forgoing message includes anEvent-Trigger AVP (Event-Trigger AVP), signaling for querying the UE inthe activated state in the cell, and signaling for querying cellresources. The Event-Trigger AVP (Event-Trigger AVP) includes aCELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, a USER_IN (USER_IN) event, aUSER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, a USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and aUSER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE) event.

Step 602: The RNC/BSC directly sends subscriber list information on theUE in the activated state in the cell and the resource-relatedinformation on the cell to the PCRF according to the event included inthe Event-Trigger AVP, the signaling for querying the UE in theactivated state in the cell, and the signaling for querying cellresources, and detects the cell state (congested or not congested) and achange of the UE in the activated state in the cell.

Specifically, the RNC/BSC directly sends the subscriber list informationon the UE in the activated state in the cell and the resource-relatedinformation on the cell to the PCRF using the newly-added interfacemessage. The foregoing message includes a User_List_In_Cell AVP(User_List_In_Cell AVP) and a Cell_Resource_Info AVP (Cell_Resource_InfoAVP) which respectively indicate the subscriber list information on theUE in the activated state in the cell and the resource-relatedinformation on the cell.

Step 603: When detecting that the cell is congested or the UE in theactivated state in the cell changes, the RNC/BSC directly sends a cellcongestion (CELL_CONGESTION) event and cell identification informationto the PCRF, or sends at least one of the following events: the USER_IN(USER_IN) event, the USER_OUT (USER_OUT) event, the USER_ACTIVE(USER_ACTIVE) event, and the USER_DEACTIVE (USER_DEACTIVE) event, andrelated UE identification information.

Step 604: The PCRF obtains subscriber subscription information on the UEin the activated state in the cell according to the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell.

Step 605: The PCRF makes a PCC policy decision to generate a QoS policyand/or a charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the received subscriber list information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, resource-related information on the cell,cell congestion (CELL_CONGESTION) event, and subscriber subscriptioninformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, or accordingto the received subscriber list information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell, resource-related information on the cell, subscribersubscription information on the UE in the activated state in the cell,the CELL_CONGESTION (CELL_CONGESTION) event, and at least one of thefollowing events: the USER_IN (USER_IN) event, the USER_OUT (USER_OUT)event, the USER_ACTIVE (USER_ACTIVE) event, and the USER_DEACTIVE(USER_DEACTIVE) event.

Specifically, for detailed description about the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy, reference may be made to related content in Embodiment1 of the present invention, which is not further described herein again.

Step 606: The PCRF sends the QoS policy and/or the charging policy tothe GGSN; the GGSN integrates with a PCEF logical function.

Step 607: The GGSN loads and executes the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy.

Specifically, if the PCC QoS policy and/or the charging policy is toincrease a data service bandwidth for a gold subscriber, the GGSN mayinitiate a modification process that is borne by the related UE in theactivated state. Reference may be made to the related content in theprior art for detailed description, which is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the PCRF directly subscribes to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell with the RNC/BSC, so as to obtain the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell that are sent by the RNC/BSC, and obtains the subscribersubscription information on the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the subscriber-related information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell, so that the PRCF generates the QoS policyand/or the charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the obtained information and send the generated QoSpolicies and/or charging policies to the GGSN, thereby implementing thecontrol over services of all UE in the activated state in the cell. Thisensures that services of the UE in the activated state in the cellnormally proceed.

It should be noted that, for ease of description, the foregoing methodembodiments are expressed as a series of action combinations. However,persons skilled in the art should know that, the present invention isnot confined to the described action sequences because certain stepsaccording to the present invention may use other sequences or beimplemented synchronously. It should be further understood by personsskilled in the art that the described embodiments all belong toexemplary embodiments, and the involved actions and modules are notnecessarily required by the present invention.

In the foregoing embodiments, the description of each embodiment hasrespective focuses. For a part that is not described in detail in acertain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions inother embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of an apparatus for controlling servicesprovided in Embodiment 5 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7,the apparatus for controlling services in this embodiment may include anobtaining module 71, a decision module 72, and a sending module 73. Theobtaining module 71 receives congestion state information on a cell,resource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on a UE in an activated state in the cell; the decisionmodule 72 generates a QoS policy and/or a charging policy for the UE inthe activated state in the cell according to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell; the sending module 73 sends the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy to a PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoSpolicy and/or the charging policy.

The functions of the PCRF in Embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the presentinvention may all be implemented by the apparatus for controllingservices provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

Furthermore, the obtaining module 71 may be further configured to obtainsubscriber subscription information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell according to the subscriber-related information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell; correspondingly, the decision module 72may be specifically configured to generate the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cell accordingto the congestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, the subscriber-related information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell, and subscriber subscription informationon the UE in the activated state in the cell; the sending module 73 isconfigured to send the QoS policy and/or the charging policy generatedby the decision module 72 to the PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF toexecute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy.

Furthermore, if a bearer binding and event reporting function entity(Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function, BBERF for short) exists ina network, the sending module 73 may further send the QoS policy to theBBERF, so as to enable the BBERF to execute the QoS policy.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the obtaining module 71 may be furtherconfigured to:

send signaling for detecting a cell congestion state, through the PCEFor an OM system or directly to an access network device, to instruct theaccess network device to detect and send the cell congestion state;receive cell congestion indication information sent through the PCEF orthe OM system or directly by the access network device when the accessnetwork device detects that the cell is congested; and obtain thecongestion state information on the cell according to the cellcongestion indication information; or

send the cell congestion event through the PCEF or an OM system ordirectly to the access network device, to instruct the access networkdevice to send the cell congestion state when the access network devicedetects a cell congestion event of the cell; receive a cell congestionevent and cell identification information that are sent through the PCEFor the OM system or directly by the access network device when theaccess network device detects that the cell is congested; and obtain thecongestion state information on the cell according to the cellcongestion event.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the obtaining module 71 may be furtherconfigured to:

send signaling for querying cell resources, through the PCEF or the OMsystem or directly to the access network device; and receive theresource-related information on the cell that is sent through the PCEFor the OM system or directly by the access network device.

Specifically, the subscriber-related information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell in this embodiment may include subscriberlist information on the UE in the activated state in the cell, or thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell may further include the subscriber list information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell and change information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell. Furthermore, the obtaining module 71 inthis embodiment may be further configured to send the signaling forquerying the UE in the activated state in the cell, through the PCEF orthe OM system or directly to the access network device, to instruct theaccess network device to query for the subscriber information on the UEin the activated state in the cell; and receive the subscriber listinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, sent throughthe PCEF or the OM system or directly by the access network device.Furthermore, in this embodiment, the obtaining module 71 may be furtherconfigured to:

send signaling for detecting a change of the UE in the activated statein the cell through the PCEF or the OM system or directly to the accessnetwork device, to instruct the access network device to send theinformation on the UE in the activated state that changes when theaccess network device detects that the UE in the activated state in thecell changes; and receive at least one type of the following informationsent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly, by the accessnetwork device: identification information on a UE in the activatedstate that changes from a deactivated state to the activated state,identification information on a UE in the deactivated state that changesfrom the activated state to the deactivated state, identificationinformation on a UE in the activated state that leaves the cell, andidentification information on a UE in the activated state that entersthe cell; or

send at least one type of the following events through the PCEF or theOM system or directly to the access network device: a USER_IN event, aUSER_OUT event, a USER_ACTIVE event, and a USER_DEACTIVE event, toinstruct the access network device to send the information on the UE inthe activated state that changes when the access network device detectsat least one type of the following events of the UE in the activatedstate in the cell: the USER_IN event, the USER_OUT event, theUSER_ACTIVE event, and the USER_DEACTIVE event; and receive at least onetype of the following events: the USER_IN event, the USER_OUT event, theUSER_ACTIVE event, and the USER_DEACTIVE event, and related UEidentification information that are sent through the PCEF or the OMsystem or directly by the access network device.

In this embodiment, the obtaining module obtains the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell that are sent by the access network device, and the secondobtaining module obtains the subscriber subscription information on theUE in the activated state in the cell, so that the decision module isenabled to, according to the forgoing information obtained by theobtaining module, generate the QoS policy and/or the charging policy forthe UE in the activated state, and the sending module sends the QoSpolicy and/or the charging policy to the PCEF, or sends the QoS policyand/or the charging policy to the PCEF and send the QoS policy to theBBERF, thereby implementing the control over services of all the UEs inthe activated state in the cell. This ensures that services of the UE inthe activated state in the cell normally proceed.

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a system for controlling servicesprovided in Embodiment 6 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8,the system for controlling services in this embodiment may include anaccess network device 81 and a PCRF 82, where:

the access network device 81 is configured to send congestion stateinformation on a cell, resource-related information on the cell, andsubscriber-related information on a UE in an activated state in the cellto the PCRF 82; and

the PCRF 82 is configured to receive the congestion state information onthe cell, the resource-related information on the cell, and thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell that are sent by the access network device 81; generate a QoSpolicy and/or charging policy for the UE in the activated state in thecell according to the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell; and send thegenerated QoS policy and/or charging policy to a PCEF, so as to enablethe PCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy sent bythe PCRF 82.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the system forcontrolling services may further include a PCEF 83, where

the PCEF 83 is configured to receive and execute the QoS policy and/orthe charging policy sent by the PCRF 82.

Furthermore, the PCRF 82 may be further configured to:

obtain subscriber subscription information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell according to the subscriber-related information on theUE in the activated state in the cell; generate the QoS policy and/orthe charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, and subscribersubscription information on the UE in the activated state in the cell;and send the generated QoS policy and/or charging policy to the PCEF 83;

correspondingly, the PCEF 83 may be further configured to execute theQoS policy and/or the charging policy sent by the PCRF 82.

Furthermore, the system for controlling services provided in thisembodiment may further include a BBERF 84; the PCRF 82 may further sendthe QoS policy to the BBERF 84; correspondingly, the BBERF 84 may befurther configured to receive and execute the QoS policy sent by thePCRF 82.

In this embodiment, by obtaining the congestion state information on thecell, the resource-related information on the cell that are sent by theaccess network device, and the subscriber-related information on the UEin the activated state in the cell, the PCRF can generate the QoS policyand/or the charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the obtained information and send the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy to the PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoSpolicy and/or the charging policy, thereby implementing the control overservices of all the UEs in the activated state in the cell. This ensuresthat services of the UE in the activated state in the cell normallyproceed.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that, all or partof the steps of the foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by aprogram instructing relevant hardware. The foregoing program may bestored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program runs, thepreceding steps included in the method embodiments are performed. Theforegoing storage medium may be any medium capable of storing programcodes, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merelyintended for describing the technical solutions of the present inventionrather than limiting the present invention. Although the presentinvention is described in detail with reference to the foregoingembodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand thatthey may still make modifications to the technical solution described inthe foregoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to sometechnical features thereof without departing from the spirit and scopeof the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling services, comprising:obtaining, by a policy control and charging rules function entity PCRF,congestion state information on a cell, resource-related information onthe cell, and subscriber-related information on a user equipment UE inan activated state in the cell that are sent by an access networkdevice; generating, by the PCRF, a quality of service QoS policy and/ora charging policy for the UE in the activated state in the cellaccording to the congestion state information on the cell, theresource-related information on the cell, and the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell; and sending,by the PCRF, the QoS policy and/or the charging policy to a policy andcharging enforcement function entity PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF toexecute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein after the obtaining, by a PCRF, congestionstate information on a cell, resource-related information on the cell,and subscriber-related information on a UE in an activated state in thecell that are sent by an access network device, the method furthercomprises: obtaining, by the PCRF, subscriber subscription informationon the UE in the activated state in the cell according to thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell; and generating, by the PCRF, the QoS policy and/or the chargingpolicy for the UE in the activated state in the cell, according to thecongestion state information on the cell, the resource-relatedinformation on the cell, the subscriber-related information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell, and the subscriber subscriptioninformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell; and sendingthe QoS policy and/or the charging policy for the UE in the activatedstate in the cell to the PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute theQoS policy and/or the charging policy.
 3. The method according to claim1, further comprising: sending, by the PCRF, the QoS policy to a bearerbinding and event reporting function entity BBERF, so as to enable theBBERF to execute the QoS policy.
 4. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: sending, by the PCRF, signaling for detecting a cellcongestion state, through the PCEF or an operation and maintenance OMsystem or directly to the access network device, to instruct the accessnetwork device to detect and send the cell congestion state; receiving,by the PCRF, cell congestion indication information of the cell that issent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly by the access networkdevice when the access network device detects that the cell iscongested; and obtaining, by the PCRF, the congestion state informationon the cell according to the cell congestion indication information; orsending, by the PCRF, a cell congestion event, through the PCEF or an OMsystem or directly to the access network device, to instruct the accessnetwork device to send the cell congestion state when the access networkdevice detects a cell congestion event of the cell; receiving, by thePCRF, a cell congestion event and cell identification information thatare sent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly by the accessnetwork device when the access network device detects the cell iscongested; and obtaining, by the PCRF, the congestion state informationon the cell according to the cell congestion event.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: sending, by the PCRF,signaling for querying cell resources, through the PCEF or an OM systemor directly to the access network device; and receiving, by the PCRF,the resource-related information on the cell that is sent through thePCEF or the OM system or directly by the access network device.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein: the subscriber-related informationon the UE in the activated state in the cell comprises subscriber listinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell; or thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell comprises subscriber list information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell and change information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell.
 7. The method according to claim 6, furthercomprising: sending, by the PCRF, signaling for querying the UE in theactivated state in the cell, through the PCEF or an OM system ordirectly to the access network device, to instruct the access networkdevice to query for the subscriber information on the UE in theactivated state in the cell; and receiving, by the PCRF, the subscriberlist information on the UE in the activated state in the cell, sentthrough the PCEF or the OM system or directly by the access networkdevice.
 8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: sending,by the PCRF, signaling for detecting a change of the UE in the activatedstate in the cell, through the PCEF or an OM system or directly to theaccess network device, to instruct the access network device to send theinformation on the UE in the activated state that changes when theaccess network device detects that the UE in the activated state in thecell changes; and receiving, by the PCRF, at least one type of thefollowing information sent through the PCEF or the OM system or directlyby the access network device: identification information on a UE in theactivated state that changes from a deactivated state to an activatedstate, identification information on a UE in the deactivated state thatchanges from the activated state to the deactivated state,identification information on a UE in the activated state that leavesthe cell, and identification information on a UE in the activated statethat enters the cell; or sending, by the PCRF, at least one type of thefollowing events through the PCEF or an OM system or directly to theaccess network device: a USER_IN event, a USER_OUT event, a USER_ACTIVEevent, and a USER_DEACTIVE event, to instruct the access network deviceto send the information on the UE in the activated state that changeswhen the access network device detects at least one type of thefollowing events of the UE in the activated state in the cell: theUSER_IN event, the USER_OUT event, the USER_ACTIVE event, and theUSER_DEACTIVE event; and receiving, by the PCRF, at least one type ofthe following events: the USER_IN event, the USER_OUT event, theUSER_ACTIVE event, and the USER_DEACTIVE event, and related UEidentification information that are sent through the PCEF or the OMsystem or directly by the access network device.
 9. An apparatus forcontrolling services, comprising: an obtaining module, configured toobtain congestion state information on a cell, resource-relatedinformation on the cell, and subscriber-related information on a userequipment UE in an activated state in the cell that are sent by anaccess network device; a decision module configured to generate aquality of service QoS policy and/or a charging policy for the UE in theactivated state in the cell according to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell; and a sending module, configured to send the QoS policyand/or the charging policy to a policy and charging enforcement functionentity PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoS policy and/orthe charging policy.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein theobtaining module is further configured to obtain subscriber subscriptioninformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell according tothe subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell; and the decision module is specifically configured to generatethe QoS policy and/or the charging policy for the UE in the activatedstate in the cell according to the congestion state information on thecell, the resource-related information on the cell, thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell, and subscriber subscription information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell; and the sending module is configured to send the QoSpolicy and/or the charging policy generated by the decision module tothe PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein thesending module is further configured to send the QoS policy to a bearerbinding and event reporting function entity BBERF, so as to enable theBBERF to execute the QoS policy.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 9,wherein the obtaining module is further configured to: send signalingfor detecting a cell congestion state, through the PCEF or an operationand maintenance OM system or directly to the access network device, toinstruct the access network device to detect and send the cellcongestion state; receive cell congestion indication information of thecell sent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly by the accessnetwork device when the access network device detects that the cell iscongested; and obtain the congestion state information on the cellaccording to the cell congestion indication information; or send a cellcongestion event through the PCEF or an OM system or directly to theaccess network device, to instruct the access network device to send thecell congestion state when the access network device detects a cellcongestion event of the cell; receive a cell congestion event and cellidentification information that are sent through the PCEF or the OMsystem or directly by the access network device when the access networkdevice detects that the cell is congested; and obtain the congestionstate information on the cell according to the cell congestion event.13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the obtaining module isfurther configured to: send signaling for querying cell resources,through the PCEF or an OM system or directly to the access networkdevice; and receive the resource-related information on the cell that issent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly by the access networkdevice.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: thesubscriber-related information on the UE in the activated state in thecell comprises subscriber list information on the UE in the activatedstate in the cell; or the subscriber-related information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell comprises subscriber list information onthe UE in the activated state in the cell and change information on theUE in the activated state in the cell.
 15. The apparatus according toclaim 14, wherein the obtaining module is further configured to: sendsignaling for querying the UE in the activated state in the cell,through the PCEF or an OM system or directly to the access networkdevice, to instruct the access network device to query for thesubscriber information on the UE in the activated state in the cell; andreceive the subscriber list information on the UE in the activated statein the cell, sent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly by theaccess network device.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 14, whereinthe obtaining module is further configured to: send signaling fordetecting a change of the UE in the activated state in the cell, throughthe PCEF or an OM system or directly to the access network device, toinstruct the access network device to send the information on the UE inthe activated state that changes when the access network device detectsthe UE in the activated state in the cell changes; and receive at leastone type of the following information sent through the PCEF or the OMsystem or directly by the access network device: identificationinformation on a UE in the activated state that changes from adeactivated state to an activated state, identification information on aUE in the deactivated state that changes from the activated state to thedeactivated state, identification information on a UE in the activatedstate that leaves the cell, and identification information on a UE inthe activated state that enters the cell; or send at least one type ofthe following events through the PCEF or an OM system or directly to theaccess network device: a USER_IN event, a USER_OUT event, a USER_ACTIVEevent, and a USER_DEACTIVE event, to instruct the access network deviceto send the information on the UE in the activated state that changeswhen the access network device detects at least one type of thefollowing events of the UE in the activated state in the cell: theUSER_IN event, the USER_OUT event, the USER_ACTIVE event, and theUSER_DEACTIVE event; and receive at least one type of the followingevents: the USER_IN event, the USER_OUT event, the USER_ACTIVE event,and the USER_DEACTIVE event, and related UE identification informationthat are sent through the PCEF or the OM system or directly by theaccess network device.
 17. A system for controlling services, comprisingan access network device and a policy and charging rules function entityPCRF; wherein the access network device is configured to send congestionstate information on a cell, resource-related information on the cell,and subscriber-related information on a UE in an activated state in thecell to the PCRF; the PCRF is configured to receive the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell that are sent by the access network device; generate aquality of service QoS policy and/or a charging policy for the UE in theactivated state in the cell according to the congestion stateinformation on the cell, the resource-related information on the cell,and the subscriber-related information on the UE in the activated statein the cell; and send the generated QoS policy and/or charging policy toa policy and charging enforcement function PCEF, so as to enable thePCEF to execute the QoS policy and/or the charging policy sent by thePCRF.
 18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the PCRF is furtherconfigured to: obtain subscriber subscription information on the UE inthe activated state in the cell according to the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell; generate theQoS policy and/or the charging policy for the UE in the activated statein the cell according to the congestion state information on the cell,the resource-related information on the cell, the subscriber-relatedinformation on the UE in the activated state in the cell, and thesubscriber subscription information on the UE in the activated state inthe cell; and send the generated QoS policy and/or charging policy tothe PCEF, so as to enable the PCEF to receive and execute the QoS policyand/or the charging policy sent by the PCRF.
 19. The system forcontrolling services according to claim 17, further comprising the PCEFwhich is configured to receive and execute the QoS policy and/or thecharging policy sent by the PCRF.
 20. The system for controllingservices according to claim 19, further comprising a bearer binding andevent reporting function entity BBERF, wherein the PCRF is furtherconfigured to send the QoS policy to the BBERF; and the BBERF isconfigured to receive and execute the QoS policy.